The Cambias Digression

Notes and thoughts on everything from what I had for breakfast to the fate of the Universe.

  • The Magic Wand

    There's a custom among science fiction writers that a story — a "hard SF" story, anyway — should only contain one element of "magic." By magic we mean some effect which is impossible under our current understanding of the universe. Or, if you're really strict, some effect which would be impossible to create with any…

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  • A Reminder

    I'm going to be at Boskone this weekend. My schedule is here.

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  • Random Encounters: Occupied Honolulu

    When secret Japanese superweapons caught the American carriers unprepared at sea just after Pearl Harbor, the Pacific was defenseless. Imperial Marines landed on Oahu a few weeks later and the Rising Sun flag now flies over Hawaii. America's still in the fight, but it will take time to rebuild the fleet. The people of Honolulu…

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  • Kitchen Report: Chinese Braised Pork Belly

    Warning: if you are interested in healthy, low-fat recipes, GET OUT NOW! I discovered this dish, or something very like it, at the Ginger Garden restaurant in Amherst. When I first moved to the area at the dawn of the new millennium, Ginger Garden was a very ordinary Chinese food joint, with a big all-you-can-eat buffet…

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  • Random Encounters: Fantastic Egypt (Part 2, The City)

    Assuming you made it past the desert, the ribbon of black earth and green vegetation hugging the banks of the Nile is studded with grand cities. They are filled with whitewashed brick houses, grand palaces and temples of stone, and busy markets. As the richest kingdom in the ancient world, Egypt is renowned for luxuries,…

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  • The Inertia of Stereotypes

    My family and I are fans of the past decade's amazing string of Marvel superhero movies. In the film Captain America: Civil War, the villain (not really a spoiler, here) is an eastern European military man named Zemo. What's interesting is that in the comic books, Zemo was always Baron Zemo, a Teutonic villain of…

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  • Random Encounters: Fantastic Egypt (Part 1, The Desert)

    Even historical Egypt was like a fantasy kingdom to ancient historians like Herodotus or Pliny. In a fantasy setting, all you need to add is a few monsters. This table covers the wilderness beyond the valley of the Nile — which visitors will have to cross in order to reach the rich Black Land of…

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  • Boskone 55, Featuring MEE!

    On the weekend of February 16-18 I'll be at Boskone, the grand old New England science fiction convention, now in its 55th year. My schedule is below — stop in at the Westin Waterfront in Boston and join me! Friday, February 16, 4:00 p.m.: Kaffeeklatsch — Join me for a cup of coffee and discussion…

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  • Random Encounters: Aboard the Orbital Elevator

    The Orbital Elevator, stretching from an artificial island south of Singapore 36,000 kilometers up to geosynchronous orbit, is one of humanity's great engineering achievements. Capsules leave the ground terminal every two hours, and the whole journey up the long carbon-fiber cable takes two days. Each capsule is a self-contained spaceship, with lounges at the top…

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  • Euthymus Contra El Zombi-Lobo Achaeanico!

    Fans of Mexican B-movies are aware of the long-standing popularity of Luchador movies. These feature masked wrestling stars, but their opponents aren't other wrestlers, as one might expect. In film the Luchadores battle ghosts, spies, Frankenstein's monster, Aztec mummies, gangsters, mad scientists, aliens, monsters, and vampires. Sometimes all at once. According to Wikipedia, the genre…

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The Worldbuilding Index